JERSEYVILLE – The man killed early Tuesday morning in a shootout with Jersey county law enforcement had a long history of crime, but according to an officer who arrested him in the past, gave no indicators that he was the sort of person who would attempt to kill a police officer.

Recent orders of protection against Durham, however, indicate he had taken a dark turn in recent years, with family members saying they feared for their lives.

The man – Austin Durham, 24 – grew up in Carrollton, but the most recent court records show he was living in Alton on the 2400 block of Crislisa Avenue, which is located near the intersection of Homer Adams Parkway and Seminary Road. A Facebook page listed him as originally being from Dwight. He did three non-consecutive semesters at Lewis and Clark Community College, but never graduated, and had not attended since Spring semester of 2012, a college official said.

In a request for an order of protection March 8, 2016, Durham’s mother – Tracey Lynn Durham – described threatening statements her son had made against her and her boyfriend Douglas Gene Smith, who was also covered by the order.

According to a complaint filed with the order, Durham threatened “to do bodily (harm) to me and told me I better start watching my back… and told me if I tried to call the cops on him I would be sorry.”

The report also detailed a threat against Smith.

“(He said) when my boyfriend Doug gets home from work today he would be waiting for him (and) that he was going to beat (him) and break both of his legs,” she wrote.

The report further stated that Durham told his mother to sleep “with one eye open” because he knew the access code for the house where she was staying.

“At this time I do believe he will try to do something to me and my boyfriend,” she wrote.

Another order of protection was requested on Feb. 6 of this year, this time by Durham’s ex-girlfriend Haley Duba. According to Duba’s account, Durham demanded back money he had given her for daycare for the child the two had together. Durham apparently began a verbal argument with Duba, who left the scene. Durham followed Duba in his vehicle, forced her to the side of the road, and threatened to kill her family if he was not given custody of their child.

He later confronted Duba at her house, and did burnouts in her driveway, the account said.

“He said he would kill anyone is his way,” her account said. “He said he would go to the daycare and kill of (sic) them to get his daughter.”

She detailed how fear of Durham had become a constant factor in her life, and said she was especially worried what he might do if he got drunk.

“I’m scared for my child and myself,” she said.

According to Carrollton Police Chief Terry Gross, Durham largely grew up in the town, and attended school there, though Gross believes he never graduated.

School district officials were tight lipped, and turned away reporters attempting to confirm details about his educational history.

Gross said Durham had several run-ins with the police department when he was a juvenile, but nothing particularly exceptional. In later arrests during his adulthood, he gave no indicators that he would become violent with law enforcement.

“I didn’t see that in him, that would indicate,” Gross said. “Did he have a temper? Yes… He was quick to get upset… But I didn’t see any indication that he would go to that extent of force. I wouldn’t have foreseen him going to this extent.”

Gross, who personally arrested Durham twice, said he generally submitted to police.

“He was the type that once you told him he was under arrest, he was compliant at that point,” Gross said. “Very seldom did you have a direct issue with him as long as you had your T’s crossed and your I’s dotted.”

Gross, who spent much of Wednesday fielding questions from state investigators over Durham, said there was no doubt based on what he had heard that Durham was shooting with express intent to kill the Jerseyville officer.

Most of Durham’s prior offenses were in Greene County, with only traffic tickets in Jersey County. Durham’s first felony conviction came in 2012, when he received 24 months of probation and 30 community service hours for possession of a controlled substance. As part of a plea deal, other charges – possession of a stolen firearm, manufacture and possession of cocaine, possession and delivery of meth, and possession of an additional unnamed schedule I or II drug – were not prosecuted.

In 2013, he was arrested for disorderly conduct, and charged the same day with a probation violation. A 2014 stolen property of under $500 value charge against him was dismissed in 2016.

His most recent charge was from 2014, for burglary. He was convicted of the crime in 2016, and sentenced to four years in prison. It was not immediately clear if Durham served any prison time. He was on probation at the time of the shooting.